Building for parking motor vehicles

ABSTRACT

A building for parking motor vehicles at least one of the parking levels of which supports an annulus mounted for rotation with respect to that level, the building including vehicle raising and lowering means serving each level and located interior to the annulus, and two motive systems associated with the annulus to effect the rotation thereof. The first of the motive systems comprises at least one fluid operated piston connected to a foot releasably engageable with the periphery of the annulus and the second comprising means continuously engaged with the annulus, the first motive system being employed solely to initiate rotation of the annulus from a stationary condition and including a release device which disengages it from the annulus after a rotation of less than 45*.

Unite States atnt Routhier [451 Jan. 30, 1973 [54] BUILDING FOR PARKRNGMOTOR 662,896 5/1963 Canada .52/65 VEHICLES [76] Inventor: Joseph PhilipRouthier, 60 Com- Examu ler-Fmnk Abbott Assistant Examiner-Henry E.Raduazo monwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass. 02116 Attorney-Gordon R.Williamson [22] Filed: Feb. 26, 1971 57 ABSTRACT 1 1 pp 119,264 Abuilding for parking motor vehicles at least one of the parking levelsof which supports an annulus 521 U.S.Cl ..2l4/16.1 A, 104/37, 52/65mounted for rotation with respect to that level. the [51] Int. Cl...E04b 1/346 ng i ing v hi l raising and lowering means [58] Field ofSearch .....54/l74, 65; 60/6; 104/36, 37, serving each level and locatedinterior to the annulus, 104/38; 214/l6.l A and two motive systemsassociated with the annulus to effect the rotation thereof. The first ofthe motive [56] References Cited systems comprises at least one fluidoperated piston UNITED STATES PATENTS connected to a foot releasablyengageable Wlth. the periphery of the annulus and the second comprising933,637 9/1909 Farrell ..l04/37 means continuously engaged with theannulus, the first 1,528,893 3/1925 Rother.... ..2l4/l6.l A motiveSystem being employed solely to initiate rota 1568384 1/1926 Pungs"214/161 A tion of the annulus from a stationary condition and in-2,186,311 1/1940 Laabs i i i ..60/6 I 2676714 4/1954 Baranem h I v52/174 cludmg a release device which dlsengages it from the 2,949 7428/1960 Williamson... ..60/6 immilus after a rotation of less than3,382,990 5/1968 Salloum ..214/16.l

, EORElQN RAIENTS QRAPPLICATIQNS 4,,Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 517,2492/1955 ltaly ..2l4/16.1 A

50 M Q o t L PATENTEU JAN 3 W SHEET 1 [IF 4 PATENTEDJAM 30 1% sum 2 [1F4.

BUILDING FOR PARKING MOTOR VEHICLES This invention relates to buildingsfor parking motor vehicles.

There have been a large number of proposed designs for parking garagesemploying a circular parking arrangement. The existence of these designsindicates that there is a broad range of agreement as to the efficiencyof a circular parking garage.

Despite this state of affairs, these types of parking garages have notgained general acceptance. A primary reason for this is the difficultyencountered in devising a circular rotary parking mechanism for thegarage which is both inexpensive and rugged enough so as to becompetitive with more conventional forms of parking garages.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a building forparking motor vehicles having a rotary parking mechanism which overcomesthe aforementioned difficulties.

A parking garage according to the invention comprises a plurality ofparking levels each having a plurality of parking locations thereupon.An annulus is mounted on at least one of the parking levels for rotationwith respect to that level. The upper surface of the annulus is atapproximately the same height as the parking locations on the level.Vehicle raising and lowering means is provided which services eaCh ofthe levels of the building and which is located interior to the annulus.The annulus is provided with two motive systems to effect rotationthereof. The first of the motive systems comprises at least one fluidoperated piston having a foot portion releasably engageable with theperiphery of the annulus. The second motive system comprises meanscontinuously engaged with the annulus. The first motive system isemployed solely to initiate rotation of the annulus from a stationarycondition and includes a release device which disengages it from theannulus aftera rotation of less than 45. In preferred embodiments of theinvention the first motive system comprises two fluid operated pistonslocated on diametrically opposite sides of the annulus and so disposedto cooperate in initiating rotation of the annulus in a given sense. Asecond pair'of such pistons may be located symmetrically with respect tothe first pair of pistons and be disposed so as to cooperate ininitiating rotation of the annulus in the opposite sense.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following description of a preferred embodiment, taken togetherwith the attached drawings thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic transverse sec tion of a parkinggarage constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken at 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken at 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of an alternative annulusconstruction; and

FIG. 5 is a view taken at 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a building for parking motorvehicles 12 which includes a plurality of parking levels 14. Thebuilding includes a central elevator shaft 16 and an elevator 18 whichprovides means for raising and lowering the motor vehicles between thevarious levels. It is preferred that the elevator 18 have two levels 20,22 so that, in situations where it would be efficient, vehicles may beaccepted from or discharged to two levels simultaneously. Furthermore,the elevator 18 is preferably deep enough to carry two vehicles ofstandard size, or even a small firetruck, on each level 20, 22.

Vehicles may enter or leave the building 10 by means of entryways 24 atthe ground level and ramps 26 which lead to the street.

The building 10 may be provided with one or more passenger elevators 28which are preferably located at the comers of the building. One or morestairwells 30 may also be provided at corners of the building.

Each level 14 is provided with an annulus 32 mounted for rotation withrespect to the level. The annulus 32 is itself of a width such that itcan accommodate vehicles radially aligned thereupon and is symmetricallydisposed about the elevator shaft 16 at a distance such that radiallyaligned vehicles may be accommodated between the annulus 32 and theelevator shaft 16 (e.g., vehicle 12a).

As described in detail below, two separate motive systems are associatedwith the annulus on each level. In FIG. 1, portions of the first andsecond motive systems associated with the annulus at the uppermostparking level are indicated generally at 34 and 36 respectively.

FIG. 2 illustrates in plan view portions of the first and second levelsof the parking building of FIG. 1. There may be provided a plurality ofindividual elevators 18 each of the type described above. At the firstlevel, areas 38 are provided at the periphery of the building which mayserve as waiting rooms, cashiers offices, etc. On the levels above thefirst level, however, it is preferred that the peripheral area at thebuilding corners be employed as parking spaces (especially suitable forvehicles intended to be parked for a period which is long relative tothe customary residence time of a vehicle in the building). Theseparking areas have been indicated generally at 40 in FIG. 2.

As best seen in FIG. 2, each level above the first level is effectivelydivided into three portions. The area of the annulus 32 itself, theparking spaces outside of the annulus 32 and the area between theannulus 32 and the elevators 18. As will be appreciated by those skilledin the art, this arrangement of space, along with the provision ofmovable annulus 32, permits the transit of a vehicle between an elevatordoor and any parking space without the need for any ramps or drivewaysas long as there is at least one vacant space on the annulus 32 itself.While the spaces immediately in front of the elevators in the areawithin the annulus must remain vacant for access to the elevators,spaces 42 are available for parking.

The motive systems for producing rotation of an annulus 32 are bestdescribed with reference to FIG. 3. The annulus 32 rotates on bearings44 for motion with respect to the level 14. The outer periphery of theannulus 32 is provided with teeth 46 (only a portion of which have beenillustrated in FIG. 3).

The first motive system for the annulus 32 comprises four fluid-operatedcylinders and pistons 48a, 48b, 48c, 48d, each of which is mountedwithin the level 14 and is supplied by a fluid supply line 50. A shaft52 extends between the piston enclosed within the cylinder and a foot 54which is located for engagement with the teeth 46 on the peripheryannulus 32. The shaft 52 is pivotally connected to both the piston andthe foot 54. The foot 54 is provided with teeth for positive engagementwith the teeth 46 on annulus 32.

A release device is provided in association with each shaft 52foot 54pair to effect disengagement of the foot from the annulus after apredetermined rotation of the annulus. The release device comprises anarticulated arm 56 connected at opposite ends to a structural portion ofthe building and to the foot 54. As will be apparent to those skilled inthe art, after a predetermined travel of the piston and shaft 52inwardly (with respect to the building as a whole) the release devicewill force the foot 54 away from the annulus thereby disengaging itsteeth from those of the annulus. At that point a conventionalpiston-return system (not shown) returns the piston, shaft 52, and foot54 to their retracted position (with teeth still not engaged).

As shown in FIG. 3 pistons 48a and 48c cooperate to initiate rotation ofannulus 32 in a counterclockwise sense while pistons 48b and 48dcooperate to initiate rotation of annulus 32 in a clockwise sense.

Four toothed wheels 58a, 58b, 58c, and 58d are symmetrically disposedwith respect to the pistons 48a-48d with their teeth engaging teeth 46of the annulus 32. Each of the wheels 58 is rotated by means of a motor(indicated at 36 of FIG. 1). Wheels 580 and 580 cooperate to producerotation of the annulus 32 in a counterclockwise sense and wheels 58band 58d cooperate to produce rotation of annulus 32 in a clockwisesense.

In operation of the motive systems, the inertia of the initiallystationary annulus 32 is overcome by one of the pairs of cooperatingfluid-operated pistons 48 which comprise a first motive system, afterwhich the respective feet 54 are retracted from the teeth 46 of theannulus and a pair of the toothed wheels (the second motive system)produce continued rotation of the annulus 32 through whatever angledesired.

The provision of two separate motive systems for each annulus will beunderstood to be an important feature of the invention. While wheels 58of an economical size (and driven by motors of economical size) maysustain rotation of the annulus 32, they are inadequate to overcome theinitial inertia of the stationary annulus. Thus, the provision of thefirst motive system in the form of large, rugged, yet inexpensivefluid-operated pistons 48 to overcome the inertia and then immediatelydisengage from the annulus permits the use of wheels 58 and associatedmotors of reasonable size and cost.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate in somewhat diagrammatic fashion a fragmentaryview of the under side, and a cross-sectional view, of an alternativeembodiment of an annulus 32a. The annulus comprises an interconnectedstructure of support members 60 which underlie the vehicle-supportingsurface 62. Downward-extending support wheels 64 are mounted in themembers 60 for rotation and ride in bevelled tracks or channels 66. Theperiphery of the annulus is once again provided with teeth 46 forengagement with the teeth on a foot portion 54 of the first motivesystem, as described above. The second motive system, however, includesone or more motors 68 supported by members 60 and drivingly connected toa toothed bevelled wheel 70 which rides in track 2. The motor may beengaged with the shaft of wheel 70 by any conventional means, includingthe bevel gear arrangement 74 shown in FIG. 5. The innermost rim 76 ofchannel 72 is provided with teeth which mate with the teeth of wheel 70.

In operation, the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 is very similar to that ofthe preceding figures. After disengagement of the first motive system,the motors 68 are activated and drive wheels 70 for rotation of theannulus 32a due to the engagement of the teeth on wheel 70 with theteeth in the channel 72.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, otherembodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A building for parking motor vehicles comprising a plurality ofparking levels each having a plurality of parking locations thereon, atleast one of said parking levels supporting an annulus mounted forrotation with respect to said level and having an upper surfaceapproximately at the same height as the parking locations of said level,vehicle raising and lowering means serving each said level and locatedinterior to said annulus and two motive systems associated with saidannulus to effect the rotation thereof; the first of said motive systemscomprising at least one fluid operated piston connected to a footreleasably engagable with the periphery of said annulus, the second ofsaid motive systems comprising means continuously engaged with theannulus, said first motive system being employed solely to initiaterotation of said annulus from a stationary condition and including arelease device which disengages said first motive system from saidannulus after rotation thereof of less than 45.

2. The building as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first motive systemcomprises two fluid operated pistons located on diametrically oppositesides of said annulus and disposed so as to cooperate in initiatingrotation of said annulus in a given sense.

3. The building as claimed in claim 2 including a second pair of pistonslocated symmetrically with respect to the other pistons at diametricallyopposite sides of said annulus and disposed so as to cooperate ininitiating rotation of said annulus in a sense opposite said annulus ina sense opposite said given sense.

4. The building as claimed in claim 2 wherein said annulus has teethdisposed around its periphery and said first and second motive systemseach include teeth disposed for engagement with said teeth of saidannulus.

1. A building for parking motor vehicles comprising a plurality ofparking levels each having a plurality of parking locations thereon, atleast one of said parking levels supporting an annulus mounted forrotation with respect to said level and having an upper surfaceapproximately at the same height as the parking locations of said level,vehicle raising and lowering means serving each said level and locatedinterior to said annulus and two motive systems associated with saidannulus to effect the rotation thereof; the first of said motive systemscomprising at least one fluid operated piston connected to a footreleasably engagable with the periphery of said annulus, the second ofsaid motive systems comprising means continuously engaged with theannulus, said first motive system being employed solely to initiaterotation of said annulus from a stationary condition and including arelease device which disengages said first motive system from saidannulus after rotation thereof of less than 45*.
 1. A building forparking motor vehicles comprising a plurality of parking levels eachhaving a plurality of parking locations thereon, at least one of saidparking levels supporting an annulus mounted for rotation with respectto said level and having an upper surface approximately at the sameheight as the parking locations of said level, vehicle raising andlowering means serving each said level and located interior to saidannulus and two motive systems associated with said annulus to effectthe rotation thereof; the first of said motive systems comprising atleast one fluid operated piston connected to a foot releasably engagablewith the periphery of said annulus, the second of said motive systemscomprising means continuously engaged with the annulus, said firstmotive system being employed solely to initiate rotation of said annulusfrom a stationary condition and including a release device whichdisengages said first motive system from said annulus after rotationthereof of less than 45*.
 2. The building as claimed in claim 1 whereinthe first motive system comprises two fluid operated pistons located ondiametrically opposite sides of said annulus and disposed so as tocooperate in initiating rotation of said annulus in a given sense. 3.The building as claimed in claim 2 including a second pair of pistonslocated symmetrically with respect to the other pistons at diametricallyopposite sides of said annulus and disposed so as to cooperate ininitiating rotation of said annulus in a sense opposite said annulus ina sense opposite said given sense.